BASEL, SwitzerlandóLonza announced in March an agreement
with Korean biotechnology company LegoChem Biosciences Inc. for the custom
material production of a monoclonal antibody that will be used for
in-vivo proof-of-concept studies for their technology
platform development.

Under this
agreement, Lonza will produce preclinical
material using Light Path Discovery Services at its applied protein services
facility in Cambridge, U.K. The
deal is important in both the short-term and
long-term goals of LegoChem, Lonza's Sze Guan Chu tells ddn.

"In the short term, LegoChem Biosciences needed custom
material in a short timeframe to meet their clinical development
timelines,"
says Chu, who is in the Asia sales and business development arm of Lonza's
Development Services operation. As for the long term,
"LegoChem Biosciences is
in the process of developing a new technology platform and will need material
for future proof-of-concept studies."

And as for Lonza's particular strength in this deal, Chu
says, "Lonza brings a fully developed and optimized
GS Expression System to
allow for high titers of material to be delivered in a reduced timeline.
LegoChem Biosciences needed someone to produce a
relatively large amount of
material in a short period of time. Their timeline was a critical factor to the
advancement of their development milestones.
Lonza's Light Path offering is
well-suited to customers that meet this criteria."

Lonza's
Light Path Custom Material Services supports
projects in their early phase, providing cGMP product within 11 months,
according to the company. In
addition, Lonza's Light Path Discovery Service
reportedly provides non-GMP product in six to 10 weeks to support customers in
the discovery-testing
phase. Since the launch of Light Path in early 2011,
Lonza says it has seen an increased demand for this offering, which is focused
on a reduced
timeline to IND filing. Light Path allows customers to reach their
clinical milestones more efficiently, the company maintains.

"Lonza's Light Path Discovery Services were specifically
designed with the demands of preclinical assessment in
mind," said Janet White,
head of Lonza's Development Services, in the news release about the deal.
"Lonza has built a strong reputation for CMO
excellence. Today, we're also
focusing efforts on supporting emerging biotechnology innovation at every stage
of development to allow each customer
the best chance for clinical success."

"We have chosen to work with Lonza on this important project
because of their reliability and solid reputation in field of mammalian
development," said Dr. Woo Sung Ho, biology director and vice president of
LegoChem, in the official statement about the deal.

Chu says the two companies have not worked together before,
and were introduced through a
Korean consultant.

In other recent news from Lonza Development Services, late
February saw an
announcement of another early-stage development deal, with
Lonza and San Diego-based Eclipse Therapeutics Inc. announcing an agreement for
the
production of Eclipse's novel cancer therapeutic antibody, ET-101, using
Light Path Development Services. ET-101 is under investigation for the
inhibition of the growth of cancer stem cells. Under the agreement, Lonza will
produce Phase I clinical materials at its development and manufacturing
facility
in Slough, United Kingdom.

Lonza and Eclipse Therapeutics announce development and
manufacturing
agreement

BASEL, SwitzerlandóLonza and Eclipse Therapeutics announced
at the end of February an agreement for the
production of Eclipse's novel
cancer therapeutic antibody, ET-101, using Light Path Development
Services.

ET-101 is a novel therapeutic antibody designed to target
cancer stem cells. Eliminating cancer stem cells, in conjunction
with other
therapies that address the tumor bulk, represents a new cancer treatment
paradigm that could offer a distinct advantage over existing
strategies, and a
solution for chemoresistance, according to Eclipse.

Under the agreement, Lonza
will produce Phase I clinical
material at its development and manufacturing facility in Slough, U.K.

"Lonza's best-in-class antibody manufacturing capabilities
will greatly support our development strategy to deliver the highest quality
and
most effective therapeutics targeting cancer stem cells. Moving into
cell-line development and subsequent manufacturing represents an important
milestone for Eclipse," says Dr. Christopher Reyes, chief scientific officer of
Eclipse.